N3481 Ithildin

National 12 Webmaster · 26 Mar 2007, 01:07

The life of N3481 Ithildin. Design: Feeling Foolish, designed by: Bim Daser in 1995
Original boat name: Cooked to Perfection.

DavidW · 07 Apr 2007, 11:12

Cooked to Perfection is my 8th Twelve. Frances & I had decided to take the step to a double bottomed boat. We had tried a couple of Foolishes and found them lovely to sail and much quicker in light winds than our Chapter. We had struck a deal on a second hand Foolish but this was dependent upon a new build which seemed to have an indefinite end date. We wanted to be sure of a new boat by Salcombe and Burton Weeks so when Mike Cooke said that he could build us one, it suddenly seemed a good idea.

Mike built us a beautiful boat. whilst he was building we were choosing the colour - we settled on metallic blue early on but which one took a lot longer! We struggled over a name for ages then suddenly this one seemed obvious (Mike is none to keen but we think he deserves the recognition!)

The boat has proven to be quick. The double bottom took a little bit of getting used to but is very comfortable. Mike put it as low as he could and we lifted the boom a bit to ensure that he crew has a comfortable ride. The mast is by Angel, it's the first carbon mast I've had and I think I'm still learning how to get the best out of it! The boom is carbon by Aardvark and is so light its almost a treat to get hit by it and delight in how little it hurts! The rudder is standard P&B/Winder, just occasionally I feel one a tiny bit bigger might help. The centreboard is designed by Bim Daser and built by Kevin Driver. I use a mixture of sails. We got Alverbanks when the boat was new because Frances thought their radial bottom panels looked prettier than the P&B offerings at the time! I now have a P&B main as well and still can't decide which, if either, is quiker than the other.

The low front tank is great - it provides bouyancy at the right place and not too much of it as well as a terrific dry storage space.

DavidW · 07 Apr 2007, 11:48

Enjoying a blast!

THG · 12 Apr 2007, 03:16

Another blast! Bristol - March 31st 2007

David_Wilkins · 08 Nov 2008, 11:18

Cooked to Perfection left Dorset today on the way to Lincolnshire in the hands of her new owner Andy Bayliss. He has promised to take good care of her and put her to good use.
It's a day of very mixed feelings - Frances & I are sailing together again which is brilliant however, to do so and to enjoy some excellent local racing in Poole Harbour we have got ourselves a Merlin which, although a very nice boat is not as pretty or as enjoyable (for me) to sail as Cooked to Perfection. The laws of physics do say that at 24 -ish stones we should do better in the Merlin than in the Twelve. Sadly our lack of experience in the class and the tides in Poole harbour are currently ensuring that these laws are unproven!

Look out for some impressive results from 3481 in 2009!
Good luck Andy & Vicky!

Cheers

charless · 21 Sep 2012, 08:12

veronika_makris · 06 Aug 2023, 03:33

The boat formerly known as Cooked to Perfection has found her way to Bavaria in the south of Germany at some unknown point in the past.

Last year, I was looking for a dinghy suitable for a mother and a child, both with very little or very forgotten sailing experience. As none of the boats that are more common in our area was available at the time (at least not for the money I was willing to invest), I decided on getting this British boat that was for sale literally just around the corner. For language reasons, we changed the name to Ithildin as the beautiful blue reminded us of a moonlit night.

We had a couple of fun sailing days last summer, this year, however, we sadly couldn't have a go yet.

David Wilkins · 03 Sep 2023, 10:51

Thanks for updating- I'd been wondering what had happened to what was one of my favourite boats! I hope you enjoy her as much as I did.